I would try Spiro first...side effects from that as well but accutane should be the last resort

I've never been on it, but search the board here and ping one of the recent members with experience

also think about your diet, ditch dairy, there are more hormones in the milk that can wreak havoc with an already complicated set of hormones, worth a try

good luck to you!

Doctors will keep telling you to take it because it will clear up your acne - but for a limited time. Doctors only see acne in very simplistic terms when in fact there are multiple causes of acne depending on the person.

I have hormonal acne and I have been on various birth control pills - none of which helped my acne at all. I have also been on accutane twice. Both times it cleared me up for around a year until my hormonal acne returned in full force (cystic acne along my jawline and lower cheeks). It is up to you what you decide - Accutane will work and does have the potential to have permanant effects however, no one I have spoken to who suffers with hormonal acne finds it cleared them up permanently. You have to decide on whether the side effects are worth taking the chance.

I am clearing myself up using herbal supplements that seem to be having great effects. I was diagnosed with PCOS and so take Vitex to regulate my periods and Saw Palmetto to lower the excess testosterone as well as evening primrose oil and zinc for overall skin health. I don't know whether this is an option you would consider? There are loads of natural supplements that are quite potent and effective and if you do the research you can find out things and tailor a plan to suit your specific needs.

I have a blog on my experience of my second course of accutane if you decide you want to go through with it and can answer any more questions you might have.

If the cause for your acne is hormonal, then I would try to treat it hormonal. There are a lot of cases in which hormone-triggered acne came back after accutane, and people had to take many courses of accutane. Accutane is a very strong med that definately is a good choice for types of acne that cannot be treated in any other way, but I know people that were severely damaged by it and also quite a lot of users on this side still suffer from serious long-term effects. So accutane IMHO is the very last choice if all other trials failed.

There are many people that had good effects without serious side effects on accutane, but if you are the one that is damaged by it, all those success-stories won't be helpful.

You could try a more natural way with DIM, saw palmetto, natural progesterone cream, myo-inositole and diet. This needs a certain patience, and the will to examine the way your body reacts carefully.

Or you could try spironolactone alone , for me it did wonders. I did not gain weight but loose some.

Or you could add BCP. There are BCP like YAZ that have Drospirenone (Spiro-like), and also can be combined with spiro to have even better effects. They have a certain risk of increased blood clotting, so it would make sense to get a test for thrombophilia before you take those. I never heard of anyone that gained weight on Yaz so far.

If the cause for your acne is hormonal, then I would try to treat it hormonal. There are a lot of cases in which hormone-triggered acne came back after accutane, and people had to take many courses of accutane. Accutane is a very strong med that definately is a good choice for types of acne that cannot be treated in any other way, but I know people that were severely damaged by it and also quite a lot of users on this side still suffer from serious long-term effects. So accutane IMHO is the very last choice if all other trials failed.

There are many people that had good effects without serious side effects on accutane, but if you are the one that is damaged by it, all those success-stories won't be helpful.

You could try a more natural way with DIM, saw palmetto, natural progesterone cream, myo-inositole and diet. This needs a certain patience, and the will to examine the way your body reacts carefully.

Or you could try spironolactone alone , for me it did wonders. I did not gain weight but loose some.

Or you could add BCP. There are BCP like YAZ that have Drospirenone (Spiro-like), and also can be combined with spiro to have even better effects. They have a certain risk of increased blood clotting, so it would make sense to get a test for thrombophilia before you take those. I never heard of anyone that gained weight on Yaz so far.

I've tried saw palmetto but it broke out my face like crazy and i had to stop.

how is spironolactone? what are the side effects? is it safer than BCP for long-term use?

I have extremely greasy/oily skin (which is another reason why im considering accutane which is supposed to help with the overactive sebaceous glands)

If you are sure your acne is hormonal, then accutane will be a temporary solution. If your acne was under control while on bcp, then it's probably hormonal. As everyone here suggested, you have some other hormonal options to try that might work for you.

I have/ had extremely oily skin too, this was fixed by the spiro. Well, I guess it is not easy to answer which one is "safer" for long term use. In fact, both are created to be taken for a very long time.

While with BCP there's an increased risk for stroke and thrombosis ( still rare though, especially if you are a normweight non-smoker with no thrombosis in family history) , with spiro there's the risk of hyperpotassiumemia (????? does this word exist in english???) ( very rare if you are a young person with intact kidneys and watch your intake of potassium and stay hydrated).

I always felt good on Yaz, my skin was nice (not completely clear though), my periods not too bad, no water retention, great. I had to come off is because of a blood coagulation disorder that was discovered.

Now I see that Spiro does exactly the same for me.

On the other hand, if you take spiro, you have to make sure not to get pregnant. So BCP solves both problems at once.

While on accutane, you will probably also have to be on BCP not to get pregnant.

I have/ had extremely oily skin too, this was fixed by the spiro. Well, I guess it is not easy to answer which one is "safer" for long term use. In fact, both are created to be taken for a very long time.

While with BCP there's an increased risk for stroke and thrombosis ( still rare though, especially if you are a normweight non-smoker with no thrombosis in family history) , with spiro there's the risk of hyperpotassiumemia (????? does this word exist in english???) ( very rare if you are a young person with intact kidneys and watch your intake of potassium and stay hydrated).

I always felt good on Yaz, my skin was nice (not completely clear though), my periods not too bad, no water retention, great. I had to come off is because of a blood coagulation disorder that was discovered.

Now I see that Spiro does exactly the same for me.

On the other hand, if you take spiro, you have to make sure not to get pregnant. So BCP solves both problems at once.

While on accutane, you will probably also have to be on BCP not to get pregnant.

Thank you very much for all your advice!

If the cause for your acne is hormonal, then I would try to treat it hormonal. There are a lot of cases in which hormone-triggered acne came back after accutane, and people had to take many courses of accutane. Accutane is a very strong med that definately is a good choice for types of acne that cannot be treated in any other way, but I know people that were severely damaged by it and also quite a lot of users on this side still suffer from serious long-term effects. So accutane IMHO is the very last choice if all other trials failed.

There are many people that had good effects without serious side effects on accutane, but if you are the one that is damaged by it, all those success-stories won't be helpful.

You could try a more natural way with DIM, saw palmetto, natural progesterone cream, myo-inositole and diet. This needs a certain patience, and the will to examine the way your body reacts carefully.

Or you could try spironolactone alone , for me it did wonders. I did not gain weight but loose some.

Or you could add BCP. There are BCP like YAZ that have Drospirenone (Spiro-like), and also can be combined with spiro to have even better effects. They have a certain risk of increased blood clotting, so it would make sense to get a test for thrombophilia before you take those. I never heard of anyone that gained weight on Yaz so far.

I've tried saw palmetto but it broke out my face like crazy and i had to stop.

how is spironolactone? what are the side effects? is it safer than BCP for long-term use?

I have extremely greasy/oily skin (which is another reason why im considering accutane which is supposed to help with the overactive sebaceous glands)

Just to clarify, Accutane damages the sebaceous glands, effectively shrinking them. The sebaceous glands grow back over time. So if your hormones are constantly stimulating your glands to produce oil, it will only be a short-term fix.

Im on accutane for the second time , i have hormonal cystic acne along the jawline , chin and lower cheeks. I relapsed after a yr after the first course of accutane and the spots came back as bad as before im looking into hormonal solutions have had all bloods and all hormones are normal but cant take bcp as too old apparently as never taken it before in my life and too old to start first time on it late 30s

Its up to you but have a good long think and do your research i find most derms are either not bothered dont care or dont know or dont really see it as a problem as such as used to dealing with more serious conditions ie cancer